The Great Difficulty in Being Saved by Faith Alone

Introduction

Money is an interesting thing because by itself it holds no value. It is mere plastic and paper, or mere numbers in a bank account that exists in a computer somewhere. But in a society agreeing to a certain value in it, money becomes someone through which we can convert value, whether it be the value of goods or services, of time or skill or product. Why is it that people go after money? It is because they are pursuing value. The more money you have, the more value you have which you can transform into material goods and services of various kinds. In other words, there is no better way to obtain value in a worldly society than to obtain money or good investments.

Why pursue value? To become a valuable person opens opportunities and relationships, it can be traded for influence, security, comfort, luxury, power, adoration, and almost any good thing in this world.

The call of Jesus is on a very different level than any other call. Here, it is a call for a rich man to deny all their wealth and follow Christ. Why did Jesus require such a radical thing? Do we have any good reason to believe that Jesus calls us to less? We may remember Jesus’ words in Matt 16:24

Matthew 16:24 NIV 2011

Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

and also Jesus’ two short parables in Matt 13:44-46

Matthew 13:44–46 ESV

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

And so this passage, and the call of Christ in general, is not about finances; its about what we find valuable. If the promises of God in Christ are true, than they are beyond doubt the greatest value and benefit that could be had. The one thing that Jesus requires of a disciple is that they would believe that these promises and real with such a faith that the passing and temporary values of this world are readily given up to follow Christ. The kind of faith the gospel calls us to is not a mere profession, but the beginning of a change in how we see what is valuable and true, which implies a denial of what we previously relied on as valuable for a pursuit of true value in the promises of God in Christ.

The point I want to prove in this text is this: salvation by grace alone through faith alone is a much more difficult calling than salvation by works. To say we believe in salvation by faith alone does not lower the bar of entry into salvation, it raises it to impossible heights that can only be reached with the help of the Spirit’s regenerating work in a heart.

A Rich Man Looking for Religious Assurance

We are introduced to a person who, in Matthew is only identified as a man who is wealthy. Mark and Luke tell us this was a young man who was a ruler, but in all cases his identity is hidden and especially by Matthew, who is showing us how little Jesus thought of people in respect to their worldly power or influence.

The question this man asks is worded a little differently from Mark and Luke. Here, he addresses Jesus as a teacher and asks what good work he may do to have eternal life. Mark and Luke have him address Jesus as good teacher. Why is Matthew different from Mark and Luke?

All the Gospel authors are recounting and translating summaries of conversations that happened in Aramaic, not Greek. The Gospel authors often do not recount word-for-word, but rather recount the basic idea of the conversation. The idea here is that the man, seeking the advice of a good teacher, asks how eternal life may be obtained by good works. Jesus, in response, questions the idea of “goodness” that the man is coming to him with, which will be relevant in his answer to the young man. This basic idea is in all the gospel accounts, although recounted in a slightly different way. This helps confirm these events actually happened since it shows that Matthew is recounting his memoury of the event, and not simply copying Mark.

Now what Jesus says does stand out as odd to us. Why does Jesus correct him? After all, Jesus is good because he is God in human flesh, and there is no greater expert on goodness than Jesus. In fact, some have used this text and the same account in Mark and Luke to argue that Jesus never claimed to be God. However, in seeking to distort the gospel, they miss Jesus’ point here entirely.

We see that this man did not come to Jesus professing him to be the Christ, but instead calls him good teacher and from this good teacher seeks wisdom on what good works he may do. Jesus is pointing out that if this man is truly looking for goodness, going to a teacher is not the right place. This is why Jesus follows up the question with a mention of the Law, the Word of God revealed to Israel through Moses. Jesus’ question about goodness helps bring this conversation to the actual point. It is like if a student in a math class asked about a certain equation, and the teacher then asks, “well, what does the textbook say?” Either the student has not carefully consulted the textbook, which he should, or he has a further question which he believes the textbook doesn’t answer. This man comes to a teacher of goodness, the teacher asks “why do you come to a mere teacher for this question when you could go to the definition of goodness itself in God’s Word?” You see, even though Jesus is the ultimate teacher of goodness, that had not been revealed to this man yet and Jesus is pushing him in his thinking.

The man’s response gives away his true thoughts. Christ lists a few of the Ten Commandments and ends with the second great commandment which forms the foundation of the Law. The man answers, “all these I have kept, what do I still lack?” Now we come to the real point, the reason he felt he needed a good teacher. He has done his best to keep God’s commandments as stated in the Scriptures, and yet he has this nagging feeling that there is more that is necessary to have eternal life. There must be another good work that God’s Law does not cover that perhaps a good teacher may know.

Now we see why Jesus confronted him and his use of the word good. The man seeks a goodness that only comes from God, and yet does not find it in God’s Law. Right away, his mission to find this hidden goodness has failed if Jesus is a mere teacher, but Jesus goes on to speak on God’s behalf. In what he says next, Jesus shows himself to be more than a good teacher.

We also see how the man is stuck on good works. There must be a work I can do, a mountain I can climb, a victory I can win, a pilgrimage I can make, an act of great righteousness or charity I can perform. Is there a homeless shelter I can build? Is there a prayer I can memourize? Are there acts of fasting I can perform?

Inherent in this is a sinister misunderstanding. This man, we see, is not like the Pharisees. There is a certain level of humility in that he recognizes there is a lack in his spiritual life despite his keeping of the OT commandments. There isn’t this hard-hearted, blind self-righteousness that we see in the religious leaders in the Gospels, although there is still self-righteousness. This man does recognize a spiritual lack, but he believes this is a lack of information and not of morality. That is, he believes that all he needs is instructions of some secret goodness and he will be on his way to complete it and have the assurance of eternal life that he is seeking.

The Standard of Christ

If we are to understand Jesus’ response to the young man, we must first understand that the entire premise of his question is wrong. He comes, not to a good teacher but to Christ, God in human flesh. He correctly perceives that a simple keeping of commandments is not enough to save him, but incorrectly concludes that what he is missing is some other work of righteousness in order to obtain it. While he believes he has kept the law perfectly, he doesn’t understand that his heart is not in submission to it, but he keeps it in a merely outward way. It is this reality that Jesus exposes here.

In verse 21, Jesus says “if you would be perfect...” Some read this and think that Jesus is speaking of some second level of Christianity, or that he is introducing a life of monastic asceticism for especially holy people. However, what Jesus is saying here is not just of the upper echelon, or the cream of the crop of God’s people, it is for all of them. Matthew 5:48

Matthew 5:48 ESV

You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

and before that in Matthew 5:20

Matthew 5:20 ESV

For I tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus agrees with the young man that a mere outward obedience to the law is not enough, but he also sees that this young man is still looking in the wrong place. Mark tells us that Jesus loved him, and this is because Jesus saw in him, as opposed to the other Jewish rulers, a spark of the humility he looks for. However, it is not enough.

Jesus than gets at the heart of the young man’s problem. It is not that he lacks in visible and outward righteous deeds, but rather than in his heart he serves his wealth and is therefore unable to follow Christ to the cross. Christ gives him an assignment of a righteous work that is impossible to accomplish without confronting his own idolatrous love of wealth, comfort, luxury, and security. If he is serious about inheriting the Kingdom of God, he must confront this and destroy it radically. Only then will he be able to “come” and “follow” Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. Only then will he be able to “take up his cross, and follow” Jesus.

Riches and the Kingdom

What is Faith?

And so I rest my case on this, the message of salvation by faith alone is much harder than a message of faith by works. This man came to Jesus convinced that he could obtain eternal life by works if he only knew which works to do. He was turned away with great sorrow because salvation required something much greater than works, it required faith. True, legitimate, unquestioning, and sacrificial faith. To inherit eternal life, he must believe that the sale of all his earthly treasures was a small price to pay for what he would eternally receive. He must believe that Jesus is more than just a good teacher. He must believe enough to follow Jesus wherever he goes, with no wealth or financial security to lean upon in case things don’t go well. He must dispose of every safety net and take a plunge of radical faith.

This is what we mean by faith alone. We do not mean a simple declaration of faith. We do not mean going through a baptism service, being a church member, or affirming the ancient Christian creeds. All of these are important, yes, but when we speak of salvation by faith, we speak of something impossible. We speak of the kind of faith that drives a rich man to sell all of his possessions. We speak of a faith that accompanied a young mother who chose to be devoured by beasts for sport rather than deny Christ to raise her baby. We speak of the faith of a monk who risked everything to speak the truth of those religious leaders who lied and abused Christians under the pretense of Church authority. We speak of the faith of five young men who died at the end of the spears of those whom they came to preach the Gospel too. We speak of the faith of those who willing lose anything and everything in this life because they know that God’s promises are true and that Jesus is the Christ. That is the faith that saves.

The Hellish Cost of Riches and Earthly Ambition

And against that faith is a trust in the security, comfort, and pleasure of this world. This is what makes it so difficult for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven. As impossible as a camel fitting through the eye of a needle. With great worldly wealth comes greater temptation to trust in that wealth and to desire more and more.

The disciple’s astonishment and the question, “who then can be saved” may seem odd. However, in the world of 1st century Jews, wealth was usually interpreted as blessing from God awarded for righteous living. They saw this in the lives of people like Abraham, Joseph, and Solomon in the OT. If it was this difficult for the righteous men whom God has blessed materially to be saved, who could possibly be saved?

Once again, Jesus agrees with their statement but not their assumption. The assumption that God awards riches to the righteous is not always true, in fact the Puritan Thomas Watson believed that wealth is more often a curse than a blessing from God. Nevertheless, their statement about the impossibility of salvation is right and Jesus, in his wisdom, directs them in it.

It is indeed impossibly difficult to enter eternal life because all people have a tenancy to rely on something other than God. Like Adam and Eve, we do not believe God enough to let go of the temporary securities and comforts of this world in order to grasp the joys of a world to come. For this man, it was his wealth. For some, it is family. For others, their career, or health, or friends, or comfortable lifestyle, or their intellect. But follow Christ, and your reliance on these things will be challenged severely. Do you rely on wealth? Jesus will take it. Do you rely on your family? Christ will introduce division. Do you rely on your career? You will loose it. Your health? It will deteriorate. Your friends? They will leave you. Your comfort? It will be taken. Your intellect? It will be discredited. If you set yourself to find eternal life, to inherit the Kingdom of God, you will find a challenge similar to the one Jesus gave to this rich young ruler. Jesus will put something in your life which will show for certain whether you truly have denied yourself, picked up your cross, and followed him. It may be that it is taken by providence, or that you are clearly and actively called to forsake it like this man, but your response in either case will prove or disprove your loyalty. Are you all in? Are you willing to lose all that is most dear to you? Do you truly trust Jesus enough to let go of fading treasures and allow him to take you to treasures and joy that never fade? This is impossible for you, for in yourself you do not have the strength of faith to go through with it. If Adam, with a pure and righteous nature, could not do it, how can you whose nature is tainted by evil? It must be God, who works the impossible in the human heart. God who showed Peter that Jesus was the Christ, who raised Jesus from the dead, who spoke through the prophets and the Apostles the words which we hold bound in our hands. Unless this same God speaks a word of life and faith, we will at best find ourselves sorrowful alongside this young man, or at worst full of the envy and hatred of the Pharisees.

The Great Treasure of Life

In verse 27 Peter, perhaps seeking to justify and assure himself, points out that he and the other disciples have left everything to follow Jesus. Here, Peter seems to miss the point as well. It is not about the action of leaving everything to follow as the inward act of faith brought about through regeneration of the Holy Spirit that saves. And yet, this has happened in Peter, though he does not understand it yet, and this promise is true. He and the rest of the twelve will judge the twelve tribes of Israel in the New World. The exact meaning of this is debated, although is doubtless refers to eschatological realities which we will not explore this morning. But in verse 29 the promise is expanded beyond the twelve to include all who have left the things of this world in pursuit of Christ, whether it be houses, siblings, parents, children, or property will receive a hundred times. It is not that they have abandoned their families, which would be disobedience to the Scriptures, but that in embracing Christ they are rejected. When given to ultimatum between family, property, and even life or Jesus Christ their Saviour, they choose Christ. These, in the church, receive the realities of a true family, and all that belongs to their spiritual family is their as well, for believers do not truly own anything but are rather entrusted with the property of God. And beyond this, eternal life. God will not leave them forsaken in this world, and that will assure them of the fullness of the promise to come when Christ comes again.

Matthew 19:30 ESV

But many who are first will be last, and the last first.

Jesus ends his instruction to the disciples following his conversation with this man with a reminder of something he has already been teaching; essentially, that the priorities given in the Kingdom of God are different and at times opposite to those in the world. This is to temper the disciples, lest they take this to the extreme of open asceticism to show off to the world how holy someone is. Jesus has not been promoting this kind of lifestyle, but rather one in which all worldly value is traded for the sake of the Kingdom of God, in which there is an inheritance that is eternal and of much greater worth than all the money, comfort, security, pleasure, or happiness this life can afford.

Conclusion

Dietrich Bonhoeffer described grace as “costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life.”

If you would truly follow Christ, if you would really devote yourself to him, you need to ask yourself some tough questions. First, do I really think that Jesus expects less self-denial from me than he did from this young man? Second, if it were you that came to Christ with this question, and he were to ask you to deny the one thing that would most likely turn you away in sorrow, what would that thing be? Money? Career? Hobbies? Relationships? Dreams? Comfort? Security? What might Christ call you to deny?

Haven’t the true heroes of our faith, from Abraham to Martin Luther, from the Apostle Peter to the martyrs who died joyfully for Christ, been the ones who quickly set aside the cheap things of this world for riches beyond what their eyes could see? And are there not opportunities to deny ourselves earthly things that could greatly benefit the Kingdom? How many in our city, in our country, and around the world need the Gospel? Quebec is the most un-evangelized part of North America. Many of the first-nations reservations in Canada have the highest suicide rates in the country and no access to the gospel that saves. Many places in this world have millions of people whose ears are aching for good news that is only found in Christ. But they will only hear if his disciples take up their crosses, put all that this world values aside, and run after what is truly worth it. Christ lived as someone with nowhere to lay his head. He was betrayed by a friend. He suffered horrifically on the cross for our sins. Will you follow him on such a road? In such a life? Because that road is the only road that leads to an empty tomb and the glories of heaven.